Association Between Radiation Risk Perception Related to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and Traumatic Stress Symptoms Induced by Media Reports of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Objectives: The Russian-Ukrainian War of 2022 (RUW-2022) was accompanied by the subsequent risk of accidents at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. This study investigated posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms related to media reports of an attack on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant during the RUW-2022 among victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and revealed their association with radiation risk perception (RRP) of the accident.

Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted 1193 residents of Naraha Town in Fukushima Prefecture.

Evaluation of a nucleic acid amplification system, GENECUBE, for rapid detection of staphylococcal nuc and mecA in blood culture samples.

Objective: This study determined whether the GENECUBE rapid nucleic acid amplification test could directly detect nuc and mecA genes in clinical blood culture samples of Staphylococcus and various other pathogens.

Methods: Between September 2020 and December 2021, 537 blood culture samples from 192 patients with suspected bacteremia were tested using conventional assays (MicroScan WalkAway96 or VITEK 2 systems) and GENECUBE nuc and mecA assays. Isolates from samples with discrepant results between the conventional and GENECUBE assays were further evaluated using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, disk diffusion testing using cefoxitin, broth microdilution testing using oxacillin, and sequencing for mecA.

Female migrants into Fukushima: A qualitative approach to their migration-support needs after the nuclear accident.

We aimed to examine the support needs of women who migrated to Fukushima Prefecture after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. In recent years, the presence of migrants has become an important part of the government's reconstruction policy for affected areas. However, there is insufficient research on the status of migrants in these areas, and it is unclear what kind of support the migrants, especially females, require to encourage further migration to the area.

Developing a broad perspective of future work and career in medical students through field trips to a disaster area: a qualitative study.

Objective: Field trips to disaster-affected areas (FTDAs) without a specific purpose, such as medical cooperation, are widely used in medical education. However, what medical students gain from FTDAs remains unclear. The present study aimed to clarify what medical students gain from FTDAs.

Association between home meal preparers and salt intake in haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between home meal preparer and salt intake among haemodialysis patients, including daily dietary status. We hypothesised that salt intake is higher among individuals who rely on meal preparation from others than those who prepare meals by themselves.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Post-Disaster Community Transition of Psychiatric Inpatients: Lessons from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident.

This study sought to explore factors related to community transition after the mandatory evacuation of psychiatric inpatients to other hospitals owing to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. A retrospective cohort design was adopted and 391 psychiatric patients were examined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to confirm the association between the achievement or non-achievement of discharge to community living and their backgrounds (age, gender, evacuation destination, psychiatric diagnoses, and physical complications).

Inappropriate timing of salt intake increases the risk of heat-related illness: An observational study.

The importance of salt intake in preventing heat-related illness (HRI) is well established, however, the specific method of ingestion has not been sufficiently studied. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the optimal timing of salt intake to prevent HRI during hot outdoor work. We recruited 28 healthy male firefighters working at a fire department in Japan.

Associations of endurance, muscle strength, and balanced exercise with subjective sleep quality in sedentary workers: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The optimal exercise combination for improving sleep quality among sedentary workers is unclear.

Objective: To reveal what combination of exercises contributes to good sleep quality.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we enrolled 5,201 sedentary workers who underwent health examinations in 2019.

A Multicenter Study on the Utility of Selective Enrichment Broth for Detection of Group B Streptococcus in Pregnant Women in Japan.

Universal screening for Streptococcus agalactiae, Group B Streptococcus (GBS), in pregnant women is important for the prevention of severe infectious diseases in neonates. The subculture method using selective enrichment broth significantly improves GBS detection rates in the United States; however, this method is not widely utilized in Japan mainly because of the lack of large-scale validation. Therefore, we aimed to validate the utility of the subculture method in collaboration with multiple facilities.

Perceived Future Outcomes of Unsuccessful Treatment and Their Association with Treatment Persistence Among Type-2 Diabetes Patients: A Cross-Sectional Content Analysis.

Introduction: Despite the known strong association between patients' knowledge of outcomes of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and treatment persistence, this knowledge in this patient population requires further clarification. The aim of our study was to reveal the perception of unsuccessful treatment outcomes among patients with T2DM and its association with treatment persistence by analysing answers to open-ended questions.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 106 patients with T2DM who lived in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, had a medical record in the Fukushima National Health Insurance Organisation database and had no cognitive problems were enrolled by purposive sampling.

Detection of Clostridioides difficile toxin B gene in clinical stool specimens using rapid diagnostic quenching probe-polymerase chain reaction assay.

We tested the accuracy of quenching probe-polymerase chain reaction (QP-PCR) for detecting Clostridioides difficile toxin B gene (tcdB) in stools from inpatients with suspected C. difficile infection and compared the results with other nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). Toxigenic culture results were used as reference for comparison.

Post-evacuation return of psychiatric hospital inpatients evacuated to hospitals outside the Fukushima prefecture after the nuclear accident: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Post-evacuation return after mandatory hospital evacuation due to complicated disasters is often overlooked and not well-discussed.

Aims: In this study, we explored the factors which are related to the ease or difficulty of the post-evacuation return to Fukushima prefecture of psychiatric inpatients who had been evacuated to hospitals outside the prefecture because of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident.

Method: This retrospective cohort study included evacuated psychiatric hospital inpatients who were registered in the Matching Project for Community Transition (MPCT) and had been traced until July 31, 2019.

Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the weight bias internalization scale.

Objective: The weight bias internalization scale (WBIS) is widely used in several languages. However, there is no Japanese version of the WBIS. The purpose of this study is to develop a Japanese version of the WBIS and to verify its reliability and validity.

Concerns related to returning home to a "difficult-to-return zone" after a long-term evacuation due to Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A qualitative study.

This study aimed to identify concerns related to returning to the Nagadoro district of Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, in 2023 among its residents as it is designated as a difficult-to-return zone after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. The following four concerns were extracted from the interviews and qualitative analysis: "Difficulties in restarting/continuing farming," which represent the difficulties in making a living from agriculture due to the absence of family members and neighbors, and the insufficient radiation decontamination; "Discriminatory treatment of products and residents from villagers," which suggests the presence of discriminations that residents of Nagadoro district are eccentrics and its agricultural products should not be treated together with those of other districts in the Village due to the recognition that the district is severely polluted by radiation; "Shift of the responsibility of returning home from the country to residents by scapegoating," which is characterized by the shift of responsibility from the government to the residents, including harsh social criticism of the residents of Nagadoro district for not returning even though the evacuation order has been lifted, when it should have been the government's responsibility to recover the district to a habitable state; "Loss of options for continued evacuation," which is the loss or weakening of the position of residents of the Nagadoro district who continue to evacuate, and of administrative compensation, resulting from the legal change that they are no longer "evacuees" after the evacuation order is lifted. The findings of this study will provide a foundation for the support of residents of the Nagadoro district after lifting the evacuation order scheduled for the spring of 2023.

The Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING): Verifying a Worker-Centred Tool for Identifying Necessary Workplace Improvements in a Nursing Home in Japan.

This study developed and tested a new measurement instrument, the Systematic Workplace-Improvement Needs Generation (SWING), to identify workplace-improvement needs. The participants were 53 workers in a Japanese nursing home for the elderly. The respondents used the SWING questionnaire to self-generate five 'cues' they considered important to improve the workplace.

Visualizing the decline of public interest in the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident by analyzing letters to the editor in Japanese newspapers.

This study aimed to delineate the decline in public interest toward the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FNPP) accident in Japan over a ten-year period. In this longitudinal descriptive study, we searched for publications within a ten-year period in Letters to the Editor that mentioned the GEJE, the FNPP accident, or the January 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (GHAE) that occurred in Japan, using the official databases of the three largest Japanese newspapers. The GEJE- and GHAE-related publications (4,809 and 2,092, respectively) are depicted as scatter plots.

Association between subjective economic status and refusal of life-prolonging treatment: a cross-sectional study using content analysis with stratified random sampling.

Introduction: Older adults tend to refuse life-prolonging treatment for various reasons, and it is important to respect their choice of treatment at the end-of-life stage. The present study examines the associations of subjective economic status and gender with reasons for refusal of life-prolonging treatment in older adults in general population.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, using stratified random sampling, 1,595 older adults living in Koriyama City, Japan, as of 2016, completed self-administered questionnaires on subjective economic status and preference for life-prolonging treatment, with free-description regarding reasons for refusal.

Effect of occupation on sleep duration among daytime Japanese workers: A cross-sectional study.

Occupation is one of the factors contributing to the loss of sleep. Although many studies have investigated sleep loss due to irregular and nighttime shifts, the causes of sleep loss in daytime workers remain unknown. The aims of the present study were to determine whether occupation is a dependent factor for sleep duration and whether working status and lifestyle are related to sleep duration.

Association between participation in sports club activities and decision-making preferences in end-of-life treatment among Japanese elderly people:a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: Decision-making regarding treatment at the end-of-life stage is an important issue for the elderly and their families. Such decision-making may be influenced by activities that promote communication and physical health. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between participation in sports club activities and decision-making regarding life-prolonging treatment among the general community-dwelling Japanese elderly.

Qualitative and Quantitative Study on Components of Future Time Perspective and Their Association with Persistent Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes.

Introduction: Future time perspective (FTP) means the capacity to foresee, anticipate, and plan for future desired outcomes, and it contributes to persistent treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the components of FTP specific to T2DM patients have not been clarified. This study aimed to explore the components of FTP and to examine the associations between such components and persistent/impersistent diabetes treatment.

Long-term observation of mortality among inpatients evacuated from psychiatric hospitals in Fukushima prefecture following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The debate regarding the need for hospital evacuation and the evacuation distance remains rather chaotic. Furthermore, the relationship between hospital evacuation and the prognoses of psychiatric inpatients has not yet been investigated. We aimed to reveal the association between the long-term prognosis of psychiatric inpatients evacuated immediately following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and their backgrounds.

Effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident on behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia among patients.

Background: The Great East Japan Earthquake triggered accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, becoming the first complex disaster that included both a natural and a nuclear power disaster. This study examines how complex disasters affect patients with dementia.

Methods: Participants included the 331 people diagnosed with dementia out of the 2482 new patients (between January 2008 and December 2015) at a psychiatric hospital located in the indoor sheltering zones nearby mandatory evacuation zones.